College Resources from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and - PDF document

College Resources from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy As colleges strive to improve student success and completion, helping students delay pregnancy and parenting (or having additional children) can make it easier to complete their college education. Below are a number of strategies and resources that can be used to address unplanned pregnancy on college campuses. Strategies fall into four broad categories, outlined below. This brief provides additional information on these strategies and background on why addressing this topic is important for student success and completion. This short video features students talking about unplanned pregnancy. 1. Incorporate information about unplanned pregnancy into student support services (orientation, first-year experience, other college success courses) • Online lessons : The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has free online lessons that will help students prevent unplanned pregnancy. For more information visit the Faculty Page. The National Campaign can provide faculty a free, customized training webinar that will show a brief demonstration and provide tips on how they can be easily incorporated into courses. The National Campaign has evaluated the online lessons with nearly 3,000 students at four community colleges and there have been very positive shifts in students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intent. If a college is interested in evaluating this effort, there is a version of the online lessons that includes built-in pre- and post- surveys and The National Campaign could make these data available to the college. 2. Integrate information about unplanned pregnancy into academic courses • Incorporating preventing unplanned pregnancy into academic classes : As part of the project they did in collaboration with the American Association of Community Colleges, The National Campaign has free course templates available for select disciplines. However, some faculty prefer to be creative with how they incorporate the topic into their course(s). For more information, here is a report about the project which includes a list of all the disciplines this topic has been incorporated into and case studies from participating colleges. The National Campaign is happy to speak with individual faculty about how they might pursue this option. And, here is a short video with faculty sharing their experience incorporating this topic in their classes. 3. Raise awareness and provide resources about the connection between unplanned pregnancy and completion using online resources, activities in residence halls, and student leaders and groups • Student Sex Life : The National Campaign has a one-stop web page for colleges, “Student (Sex) Life.” This page includes links to great resources for college students, faculty/administrators, and healthcare providers on or working with college campuses. It’s a helpful college-oriented introduction to Bedsider, The National Campaign’s web and mobile site for young adults about birth control. • Programming in Residence Life and in other ways on campus : Colleges are often looking for programming for their dorms and other student activities. These are

great opportunities to share information about birth control, and a number of colleges share Bedsider materials in these settings. Some colleges have also hosted movie nights and discussions using shows that can start a good conversation. For example, they have used 16 & Pregnant and 9ine . Click here for 16 & Pregnant and here for 9ine DVD kits including discussion guides —the DVD kits are free, but The National Campaign charges for shipping and handling. • Materials to display/distribute on campus : The National Campaign has posters available that direct students to The National Campaign’s online birth control support network, Bedsider, Informational items such as the Birth Controls Top Picks booklet, birth control method cards, and Palm Cards that work well, to hand out at viewing parties or presentations in residence halls, or make available in a student services center, women’s center, or health clinic. There’s also a Guy’s Guide that’s a great set of video resources for male students. Colleges can check out all these resources to see what might be a good fit for them. • Bringing Bedsider to campus: Your students might be interested in bringing Bedsider to campus to help promote better access and understanding of birth control options. If they’re interested, send them to the website to learn more and sign up to be a campus rep. • Phi Theta Kappa: PTK chapters can help distribute information about preventing unplanned pregnancy. Here is an article written by a former PTK chapter president who focused on preventing unplanned pregnancy for her award-winning projects. The National Campaign has a wealth of free resources and data available on the website that can be used to support these projects. 4. Connect students to health services, including access to effective birth control, on or off campus • Bedsider has a clinic locator that allows students to enter their zip code and find a list of clinics in the area where they can obtain affordable birth control. It also provides information about whether an individual might qualify for free or low-cost contraception and articles about access to birth control through the Affordable Care Act. You might also be interested in several recent articles and blogs: • The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted exciting statewide efforts in Mississippi and Arkansas. This blog from the Women’s Foundation of MS provides some additional background. • A blog from Jessyca Perez, a faculty member at Miami Dade College, about her experience bringing The National Campaign’s online lessons to her college. • A blog from a college student about the need for better sex ed in college. • In an excellent article published on Pew’s Stateline, reporter Sophie Quinton travels to Jackson, Mississippi to see how the state’s innovative legislation is being implemented, and shares perspectives from leaders in Arkansas and Mississippi about why they are tackling the topic unplanned pregnancy and how it supports college completion goals The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 1996. It is funded primarily through private foundations. The National Campaign has been working with community colleges to help their students prevent unplanned

pregnancy since 2008, guided by an outstanding National College Advisory Group, and is happy to assist with the above strategies. To learn more, contact Chelsey Connolly, Senior Manager of College Initiatives, at cconnolly@thenc.org or 202.478.8519.